Meat-tag.



No. 872,238. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

R. H JACKSON.

MEAT TAG.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27. 1907.

WITNESSES INVENTO/i 5 i3 flal ak )[Jzc/isg:

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ATTORNEYS RALPH HARINGTON JACKSON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

MEAT-TAG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Animation 51 June 27, 1907. semi No. 381.053.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RALPH HARINGTON JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented anew and Improved Meat-Tag, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide novel details of construction for a meat tag, that is specially adapted for the use of meat inspectors, which is inserted in the meat and is not removable without cutting the same; and furthermore, that is not capable of re-use after it has been secured in meat that has been inspected.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views. Figure 1 is a plan view of a sheet metal blank, that when folded forms the body of the tag, and a spring locking device secured uponthe blank; Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, substantially on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, a wing on the blank being indicatedin normal folded position by dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a side view in reduced form of the improvement in closed adjustment; Fig. 4 is a transverse partly sectional view, substantially on the line 44 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side view showing the device folded for acking and shipment in compact form, and ig. 6 is a reduced perspective view of the tag applied upon a piece of inspected meat.

To render the tag light, strong and sanitary, it is preferably constructed of aluminium, and com rises the following details, which briefly escribed embody a base ortion formed of sheet metal, lap-foldec to fie it proper dimensions, a shackle bow ged at one end and pointed at the other end for a hooked engagement with meat that has passed inspection, and means for holding the free ointed end of the shackle bow fixed within tfie base piece, so that the tag cannot be re-used for a fraudulent purpose.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the blank or flat plate of sheet metal 10 is mainly rectangular in contour, but has a rectangular wing plate 1O extended at one edge which will presently be more fully described. Near the edge of the blank 10 from which the wing 10 extends, a concavity a is formed that projects at the'opposite side as a convexed protuberance on the exterior surface of the blank, and as shown, this protuberance a is at the transverse center of the blank 10. Upon the side of the plate 10 which has the concavity therein, a resilient locking rod 11 is secured by one end, that is embedded in a shallow groove and is thus held extended across the concavity a toward the wing plate 10. Said wing plate is now folded over the locking rod 11, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus disposing a perforation I) in the wing plate above the locking rod. There are two similar sections 10 and 10 formed on the tag body, by lapfolding each portion down upon the central portion and upon the wing plate 10, the dotted lines 0, c, in Fig. 1, showing the points where the sections are bent upon the body plate 10 that remains intermediate the folded sections, the latter and the wing plate 10 being shown in relative positions in Fig. 4.

The body of the tag that has been described, is perforated at d, d, opposite the center of the concavity a, the perforations in the sections 10*, 10, coming opposite when the latter are lapped upon each other and over the wing plate 10 and the perforation b in said wing plate, will also register with the perforations named, which will permit the insertion of a pointed object down through the holes and into engagement with the locking spring rod 11.

The shackle bow 12 is bent from a wire rod into arched form, and at one end is pointed as shown at e in Figs. 4 and 5, a latch hook 6 being formed laterally on said end portion of the shackle bow, by removal of material. At the opposite end of the shackle bow a hook g, is formed by bending the material upon itself, and when the bow is to be mounted upon the tag body, it is passed through a perforation at the transverse center of said body, which is formed in the blank at three points f, as appears in Fig. 1, these holes registering with each other when the sections 10 10 are folded upon the intermediate portion of said body. Upon the extremity of the hook g, a head g is formed, which prevents a detachment of the shackle bow from the body portion of the tag.

It should here be explained that, as shown in Fig. 1, a notch h is formed in one corner of 12, that the latter may be folded flat upon the tag body when this is desired, and thus permit a close packing of a number of the tags for storing and transportation, a lip 71 on the tag body .holding the bow in folded condition.

The tag is to be marked in a durable man-' ner, with a symbol that will identify the tag as the official mark of an authorized meat inspector, and thus guarantee the quality of meat so marked.

In use, the shackle bow 12 is hooked through a piece of meat A that has passed inspection, and the pointed end of the shackle bow is pressed down through the alined perforations b, d, (1, so that the latch hook 6 may interlock with the resilient locking rod 11, which will affix the tag upon the meat and prevent its removal therefrom'ezc cept by cutting it out of the latter. The tag is intended to remain in the meat until it is sold to a retail dealer, and afterward, if the dealer is desirous of proving the quality of the meat he vends, and as the shackle bow cannot be detached from the rod 1 1, it will be seen that a re-use of the tag for fraudulent purposes is prevented.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a meat tag, a body formed of a sheet metal blank having three sections that fold upon each other, a resilient locking rod therein having a free end, the body having registering perforations in its sections that afford.

passed through meat and then inserted in the registered perforations, thus interlocking the locking rod with the lateral hook for securing the shackle bow in the tag body.

2. In a tag of the character described, a tag body formed of sheet metal, having a concavity in its surface, a Wing foldable over the concavity, and two body sections,'one at each side and folded upon each other and over the wing, said sections and wing having alined perforations therein above the concavity. l

3. In a tag of the character described, a tag body formed of sheet metal, having a concavity near one end, a spring wire rod secured by one end and extended across the concavity, a wing foldable over the rod and the concavity, and two plate-like body sections folded successively uponthe wing and upon each other, said sections and wing having alined perforations therein above the spring rod.

4. In a tag of the character described, a tag body having a spring locking rod therein, and also having a perforation opposite the spring locking rod, and a shackle bow pointed at one end and having a locking hook therein near the point, and a hinged connection at the other end of the shackle bow on the tag body, said connection having a construction which permits the shackle bow to be adj usted for foldingit fiat upon the tag body.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RALPH HARINGTON JACKSON.

VVitnesses:

' SLADE R. YOUNG,

EMIL LUDEKENS. 

